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Fabi wants a vote that counts
Sep. 16th, 2009 04:57 pmYes, this is my high horse, and I'm back on it.
I made some deeply personal choices to live in the District of Columbia. The primary one was hatred of a law that was passed a few years ago. I am also viscerally anti-death penalty. The idea that I could have a shorter commute and be entirely car-free by living in the District while working in Virginia appealled to me. In addition, I guaranteed that none of my income tax would finance a law a despised.
(At the time of its passage, I noted that my family hadn't arrived with the Jamestown colony to found the Commonwealth of Virginia in order for it to pass such boneheaded legislation.)
Once I got here, I found that I love this city very deeply. I grew up in the suburbs, but came in to the city at least weekly (our church was here), and often more frequently. Being within walking distance of the National Mall has meant so much to me. I feel more alive than I have in years.
So, imagine my surprise when I found I'd missed out a little bit of the fine print. I knew the District had been permitted a congressperson in 1971, but I was ten and just didn't put it together that the District's representative had no vote.
Moreover, in spite of Home Rule (and thanks to the malfeasance of Marion Barry), Congress can override any legislation passed by my city council. Now for the moment, Congress has been kind enough to allow us to live by the full faith and credit segment of the Constitution vis-a-vis gay marriages and civil unions. They allowed their deadline to pass, so it's now law in the District, but they may interfere in the decision making process as to whether the District can license its own same-sex unions. What really galls me, is they can do this while not allowing me, a citizen of this country, to have a voting representative among them.
Please ask your representatives to allow my representative a vote.
I made some deeply personal choices to live in the District of Columbia. The primary one was hatred of a law that was passed a few years ago. I am also viscerally anti-death penalty. The idea that I could have a shorter commute and be entirely car-free by living in the District while working in Virginia appealled to me. In addition, I guaranteed that none of my income tax would finance a law a despised.
(At the time of its passage, I noted that my family hadn't arrived with the Jamestown colony to found the Commonwealth of Virginia in order for it to pass such boneheaded legislation.)
Once I got here, I found that I love this city very deeply. I grew up in the suburbs, but came in to the city at least weekly (our church was here), and often more frequently. Being within walking distance of the National Mall has meant so much to me. I feel more alive than I have in years.
So, imagine my surprise when I found I'd missed out a little bit of the fine print. I knew the District had been permitted a congressperson in 1971, but I was ten and just didn't put it together that the District's representative had no vote.
Moreover, in spite of Home Rule (and thanks to the malfeasance of Marion Barry), Congress can override any legislation passed by my city council. Now for the moment, Congress has been kind enough to allow us to live by the full faith and credit segment of the Constitution vis-a-vis gay marriages and civil unions. They allowed their deadline to pass, so it's now law in the District, but they may interfere in the decision making process as to whether the District can license its own same-sex unions. What really galls me, is they can do this while not allowing me, a citizen of this country, to have a voting representative among them.
Please ask your representatives to allow my representative a vote.
